Hello Friends,
I live in Ahmedabad city, in Gujarat, India. Since childhood, I have had a deep interest in animals and wildlife. I also volunteer to help injured or abandoned animals and birds, which clearly shows how much I love wildlife.
I have had many encounters with different animals and birds, but today I am writing about the Indian Star Tortoise. My first interaction with a tortoise was when I was 7 years old. My father once brought home a very large tortoise. While playing with it, I even sat on its shell, and it continued walking slowly with ease. We usually fed it vegetables, fruits, and kitchen scraps that my mother gave while cooking.
We allowed the tortoise to roam freely around our old house, which was a 3BHK on the ground floor with a 90-yard compound. One evening, while walking indoors, my father accidentally hit the tortoise with his foot, which caused a fracture in his little toe. A month later, when we returned home late at night, we found the floor covered with the tortoise’s droppings. My mother became very angry, and the next morning my father returned the tortoise to his friend. That was my very first experience with a tortoise—something I still remember clearly.
The Indian Star Tortoise
Let’s first understand its name:
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The – It represents that this is a rare and exotic reptile species. Sadly, today it is becoming endangered.
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Indian – This tortoise originates in India and is also found in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
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Star – The name comes from the beautiful star-like patterns on its hard shell.
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Tortoise – Its scientific name is Geochelone elegans.
About Reptiles
The Indian Star Tortoise belongs to the reptile family. Reptiles are known as cold-blooded animals. Unlike humans, they cannot regulate their body temperature internally. Instead, they depend on external sources—like sunlight, warm surfaces, or shade and water—to maintain their body temperature. For example, if a tortoise feels cold, it basks in the sunlight; if it feels hot, it seeks shade or cooler places.
Features of Tortoises
Tortoises are land-dwelling reptiles, closely related to sea turtles. They are found across many parts of the world, especially in warmer southern regions.
They have a hard outer shell that protects them from predators. However, the skin on their legs, head, and belly is soft. To protect themselves, they can retract their head and limbs completely inside the shell. Depending on the species, a tortoise’s shell can be as small as a few centimetres or as large as two metres.
Most tortoises are herbivores, eating grasses, weeds, leafy greens, flowers, and fruits. Their lifespan is often similar to that of humans, though some species, like giant tortoises, can live over 150 years.
Behaviour and Reproduction
There are many species of tortoises, differing in size, colour, and diet. Most are active during the day (diurnal), but in very hot climates, they usually search for food during cooler hours—at dawn or dusk.
Female tortoises dig nesting burrows where they lay eggs. Depending on the species, they may lay between 1 and 30 eggs, though usually around 10. Sadly, only a few hatchlings survive, as baby tortoises are vulnerable to predators. The eggs hatch after 2 to 4 months, and within a week the babies start looking for food on their own. The size of the baby and egg generally depends on the size of the mother.
Tortoises as Pets
Today, many smaller tortoise species are kept as household pets. Unfortunately, some pet owners do not take proper care of them. For example, many tortoises are kept on hard surfaces in flats or confined to balconies for their entire lives, which is unhealthy for them.
Ideally, a pet tortoise should live in a garden or a small vegetable patch where it can graze naturally. Its diet should resemble what it would eat in the wild—mainly greens and fruits. It should never be fed foods like cat or dog food, as these are harmful to tortoises.
Winter and Tortoises
Nowadays, winter has set in. Most species of tortoise—though not all—hibernate during the colder months, especially those living in the Northern Hemisphere. Before hibernation, tortoises must have an empty stomach, so they naturally go through a short period of fasting. They emerge from hibernation once the weather starts warming up again.
My Indian Star Tortoises
I currently have a pair of Indian Star Tortoises. I brought them from a friend’s home, where they had been living for the last four years. They are healthy and active, but after moving them to my home compound, where they have more natural space and habitat, they finally laid eggs.
Within two weeks, they laid six eggs directly on the ground. I carefully placed the eggs in soil and covered them lightly. The hatching temperature for Indian Star Tortoise eggs is usually around 27°C. Since it is winter now, I placed a small 15-watt bulb above the eggs for warmth and added a thermometer to monitor the temperature. The hatching process generally takes 2 to 3 months, so now I am waiting eagerly to see what happens.
Caring for Tortoises
Before keeping a tortoise as a pet, it’s important to understand their natural habitat, diet, and needs. Indian Star Tortoises thrive in scrub forests and dry areas with access to nearby water. They require both sunlight and shade, as maintaining the right body temperature is crucial for their health. Too much heat or too much cold can be harmful, so a balance of sunny and cool places is essential.
Thank you for reading.
Jai Hind
